Names In The News

British authorities have not yet issued a new visa to Russian oligarch and Chelsea Owner ROMAN ABRAMOVICH and it is "not clear if or when one with be granted," according to Russian media reports. Abramovich held an entrepreneurial visa to the U.K. that expired several weeks ago. He was not seen at Saturday's FA Cup final at Wembley (London GUARDIAN, 5/20). ... British Olympic diver TOM DALEY opened a sports facility in Southwark "following restoration work which involved filling in World War II shelter tunnels." The two-acre Marlborough Sports Garden will offer "numerous sports pitches and facilities for a wide variety of games including table tennis, beach volley ball, basketball and football" (SOUTHWARK NEWS, 5/17). ... The Int'l Cycling Union (UCI) suspended a team director for 50 days "after the car he drove almost struck a race official in England." The UCI said that LARS MICHAELSEN, a sports director with Team Astana, "accepted responsibility for the near-crash" at the Tour de Yorkshire this month (AP, 5/18).